I ditched software engineering to become an influencer. Here's how I scaled up to 6 figures — and why my computer-science degree is now my backup plan.

• Vanessa Chen has a computer-science degree but chose to pursue content creation.
• She started posting her outfits as a pandemic hobby and grew her following to more than 4 million.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Vanessa Chen, a 22-year-old content creator in Boston. Her income has been verified with documentation by Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Before the pandemic, I was a computer-science undergraduate with plans to become a software engineer. Now I'm a full-time content creator with more than 4 million followers across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok who earns a mid-six-figure income.

My pandemic hobby turned into my full-time job thanks to the right timing. Like many people, I started posting videos of my outfits just for fun during lockdowns because I'd always been into fashion. While I have my largest share of followers on TikTok now, my social-media journey began with Instagram. It had just rolled out Reels, and there weren't many people using the feature yet.

I leaned in to video content from the start. My Instagram stats blew up once I started posting videos, and the same thing happened when I repurposed my content for TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Before Reels, I had about 1,500 followers on Instagram. Within six months of posting every day, I reached 100,000 followers.

I want to make the most of this content-creation career while I have it because there's no job security in social media. My computer-science degree is my backup plan.

Juggling content creation and college wasn't easy

I turned down a summer-internship offer in 2021 to focus on my social media. I was nervous at first, but I saw many people who struggled to do both a full-time job and content creation, so I knew it was the right time for me to go all in because it would get only more difficult.

Fortunately, I ended up making more money that summer than I would've made from the internship, and by the time I graduated, I'd built up a big enough following to be a full-time content creator.

I structure my content-creation job like a 9-to-5

While many people think an influencer's job is glamorous, my workday looks just like a 9-to-5 job, except it's just me and my gear in my bedroom. I used to have a part-time assistant who was a student and could work only during school breaks, but right now, it's a one-woman show. I plan on hiring a full-time assistant soon.

On a typical day, I wake up and go straight into filming. I know many people batch their content, but I film and edit in the same day. It's very tiring to constantly keep up with trends, so I try to film what I'm most passionate about. When I'm in a rut, I look through my old videos to draw inspiration — I can always redo a trend, a transition, or a sound in a new way. This gives me a backlog of ideas that hopefully I'll never run out of.

Once that's done, I usually check my emails, hit the gym, go back home, and eat. I spend a couple of hours in the evening with my fiancé, Jason, and then I go to sleep and repeat everything the next day.

You'd think, as a content creator, I would be up to date with everything on social media, but I try to avoid technology in my free time for the sake of my mental health.

When I'm working, I do check social media to see what others are posting, especially when I'm lacking inspiration. But I take extra care to ensure that I always put my own creative spin or flair on content I'm inspired by.

I leveled up by hiring a management company

Before I had a manager, I didn't make much money. The industry was new and no one talked about money, so I didn't know how much to charge. It didn't help that I was terrible at negotiating.

But I did hear influencers could make a lot of money, so I decided to hire a talent-management company two years ago, and it was game-changing. My current management company reached out to me when I had only 10,000 followers. At that point, I wasn't sure if I needed it, so I said no. A few months later, it contacted me again, and I realized I did need help with negotiating and dealing with brands. It's been great ever since.

My management company deals with contracts for me, so I can focus on what I'm best at: content creation.

My income comes from a few places

About 80% of my income comes from sponsorship deals, and the rest comes from affiliate codes and ad revenue. I'm very lucky to have worked with many brands I loved growing up, including Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, Lululemon, Reebok, Marshalls, and Nike. Last year, Amazon asked me to work on a clothing line with it, and it was an exciting opportunity.

My growth was exponential at the beginning, and it has started to plateau, which can be scary, but I'm quite comfortable with it. I don't have to chase numbers anymore, and I know what I'm doing.

Some creators think higher numbers equate to higher income, but in my experience, a lot of times brands prioritize quality content and high engagement over followers alone. I would much rather have 100,000 followers who genuinely connect with my content than 1 million followers who barely know who I am or don't consume my content regularly.

Hopefully, if I play my cards right and start investing my money in the right places, I can semiretire, or at least not have to work every single day, by the time I want to settle down and have children. I haven't invested yet, but Jason and I have been talking about investing our savings soon into areas like stocks or properties.